Israeli Opposition Leaders Back Former Military Chief Eisenkot to Oust Netanyahu

The leaders of Israel's main opposition parties have agreed to back former military chief Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister, promising to replace Benjamin Netanyahu's government as quickly as possible.

The leaders of the Jewish-led opposition alliance met on Tuesday in the city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, in their first joint meeting since the October 27 election, which left neither bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

The agreement comes a day before President Isaac Herzog begins consultations with parties on who should form the next government.

In a joint statement, the leaders said all their parties would recommend Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, to Herzog, and that negotiating teams would immediately begin drafting policy guidelines and coalition agreements.

The statement said the party leaders are coordinated and will act immediately to replace Netanyahu's coalition with a national emergency government.

The meeting brought together Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yair Golan of the Democrats, and Yair Lapid, who heads the Yesh Atid party.

But the bloc remains divided over whether to ally with Arab-led parties, whose support could prove decisive in forming a government.

The leaders stood by four principles set out by Eisenkot, including that all parties in government recognise Israel as a Jewish state and label Hamas a 'terrorist' group — conditions that could exclude some Arab-led parties.

Bennett, whose party came third, told reporters: 'We don't have time — we must act with great urgency.'

Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats, the opposition 48, and Arab-led parties 19, with the Joint List taking 11 and Ra'am eight. A majority requires 61 seats.

Yousef Jabareen, head of the largest Arab-led party in the next parliament, said the opposition needed to accept 'political reality' and join forces to remove Netanyahu.

Golan is the only opposition leader openly backing an alliance with Arab-led parties, saying it is racist to exclude them. He met the leaders of Arab-led parties before the talks and promised to tackle the high crime faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel in their communities.

Liberman, by contrast, has firmly opposed including Arab-led parties, although he also wants to avoid another election.

On Monday, Netanyahu called for a 'broad national government' under his leadership, saying his Likud party, with 27 seats, remained the largest. No opposition leader has expressed openness to joining him, and he has ruled out a coalition with the Arab-majority lists.

Herzog will hold consultations on Wednesday and Thursday. Eisenkot could receive the most recommendations if he secures the backing of lawmakers from the Arab parties.